Sweet Spot

As the second book in the Bakery Sister series, I started out not being one of Nicole's biggest fans (based on book one). In book one, Sweet Talk, Nicole comes across as cold, abrasive, and unforgiving. Yet, in this book, you see the very sensitive core of who she is trying to protect. After feeling abandoned by both parents, a twin who went off to travel the world as a famous pianist, and a husband that she caught in bed with the younger sister she had been forced to raise, you start to see why Nicole acts the way she does. Into this mix, walks Hawkins, a former NFL player who gave up his career to raise his daughter after his wife died of cancer. He's big, brawny, and a dedicated father. What's not to love? While Nicole has a tough exterior, she comes off to Hawk as a hard sell. Used to getting his way, Hawk finds that he has to win over Nicole and get to know her. Along the way, they hurt each other horribly (adding to the tension of the novel), poking at old injuries, and forcing one another to wake up to the stupid things they've been blind to in their lives. I really liked this Mallery novel. I realize that I usually only write reviews when I really like something, and I suppose that in this case, this fits the bill. I needed a good escape read, to really feel a part of a story, and once again Mallery delivered. I have read many of her other books, and loved several others, but this story was really engaging and made me care a great deal about all characters involved. What more could you want out of a good romance?

I'll be honest, my experience with Mallery's books is that they are hit or miss. But this one is a DEFINITE HIT! Great characters (excellent hero!), interesting plot, hot love scenes. But the best is that it's unpredictable--the characters are like "real" people with flaws who make mistakes, etc. For example, the hero does something that would normally be considered really romantic--but it totally backfires. I'm an avid romance reader and I highly recommend this book.

This is the 2nd book in the trilogy of the Keyes sisters. It was also my absolute favorite of all three. The sexual tension between Nicole & Hawk jumped right off the pages! Yes, Nicole was sarcastic and had a comeback for everyone. I loved that about her. She had a tough girl image, but a heart gold which Hawk saw right away. Their romance was sweet, but also had it's troubles. Definitely do not miss this one!

After being so disappointed with sweet talk I wasn't sure I could stand another book with the whining sisters but I'm such a fan of Susan Mallery's I had to do it and so glad I did this one does not disappoint can't wait for sweet trouble.

I love Sweet Spot! Susan Mallery has Nicole endearing herself to the reader after her witchey ways in Sweet Talk. Nicole is the older fraternal twin by 2 minutes so she has always been the bossy one! After their mother's death while she was with Claire Nicole has had most of her mother's responsibilities--house to run, the bakery to work at and her little sister to raise so she feels she was cheated out of her teenage years and has blamed Claire for this and as we learned in Sweet Talk Claire didn't have any more to say about things than Nicole did--maybe their parents hadn't acted in THEIR children's best interests after all. Nicole meets Hawk, former NFL player Eric Hawkins, after his star quarterback tries to grab and run but not pay for the boxes with the 5 dozen donuts that he has ordered. Hawk gets the call from the police about the incident and goes to try and talk the owner out of filing charges. The owner, Nicole, isn't so sure and isn't "sweet talked" into forgetting but is willing to give the boy, Raoul, a job. Raoul and Coach Hawkins, the hero, become very important to Nicole as the book progresses and Nicole becomes the focal point of Hawk's thoughts and Raoul's friendship. Nicole is a great heroine that I liked but thought she was so hard on Claire in Sweet Talk but in Sweet Spot she becomes loveable Hawk's a widower who coaches the high school football team. He has a 17 y.o. daughter, Brittany, who also has a big part in Hawk's world too, is it too big? Nicole is in the process of getting a divorce from Drew, her BIL's stepbrother who she hadn't loved when she married him but this divorce is so hard. Of course she had found Drew in bed with someone so important to her it really hurt! Such a group of characters to create this wonderful world of the Keyes is great fun to read. Nicole has grown up and has her HEA, Claire married and pregnant has her HEA and next we'll meet Jesse in Sweet Trouble in September. I'm sure Susan Mallery will give us a great story again.